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Current List Of Issues Still Unresolved


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#1 Jun Watarase

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 01:20 PM

Most of these have been unresolved for more than a year since closed beta....

In no particular order :

-Lag compensation is either not in the game, or does not work properly. Try hitting fast mechs with a 300+ ping. With missles/ballistics in particular. Status : ???

-Matchmaking is still pitting teams of premades against randoms, with wildly varying skill levels and tonnage distributions. A large number of games end in very lopsided wins, where the majority of the losing team deals less than 100 damage. Status : ???

-Hitboxes/hit registration is very wonky, with many cases of mechs not taking damage despite being stationery. Most famously for spiders. Status : Currently being investigated.

-Weapon balance is in a terrible state, for more than a year the metagame has favored high damage, pinpoint weapons such as PPCs and loadouts focusing on long range, high damage alphas. The majority of the weapons in the game have little to no usefulness. Status : ???

Pulse lasers are inferior to standard lasers in almost every way.

Large lasers have no use compared to PPCs, considering that one is a instant fire weapon and the other is a beam.

Flamers/MGs, self explanatory.

Gauss rifles charging did not discourage the prevalance of gauss boats sniping, it just forced them to snipe more. Which was never hard on maps like desert.

Heat dissipation renders energy weapons a liability in a stand up fight, whereas ACs can fire pretty much forever.

SRMs scatter too much and serve no purpose when you can alpha with PPCs/ACs/Gauss instead. Even with artemis, they have massive spread at 200m.

ER weapons have no use given that all weapons have MASSIVE max ranges compared to their TT values.

LRMs/Streaks are only useful when mounted on a mech with ECM/BAP or playing in a premade with a ECM mech. In a pug match, the prevalance of ECM, which takes absolutely zero skills to use since it is a passive module, renders these weapons impotent....and you cannot always count on a friendly counter-ECM to be available. Also, missles serve no point when you can just do a 30-40 damage alpha to the CT instead. LRMs are also easily neutralized by AMS.

Artemis usefulness is questionable given that having LOS means getting cored by PPC/Gauss/ACs, and it seems to have neglible effect on SRMs.

LB-10X is inferior to the AC10 because it cannot do pinpoint damage.

Chainfiring AC2s and 5s can render a target unable to fire back due to cockpit shake. Being unable to fight back is NOT a good thing and just frustrates people.

Ultra AC5s jam so much that they often leave you defenceless infront of an enemy. Also do not fit into the metagame of massive alphas.

-Poptarting is still very easy to do, especially as you only need one jump jet. Additional jump jets are un-necessary, even for light mechs that are mounting it for mobility Status : ???

-Mech balance is terribly bad, with some variants being blatantly better than others, especially for hero mechs. This is largely due to PGI's insistence of putting multiple ballistic slots in a location, see : dragon vs hero dragon variants, or boars head vs AS7-D. Some mechs are a complete joke and nobody uses them seriously anymore (see : Centurion). The limited amount of missle tubes on some mechs also makes LRMs easier to shoot down with AMS, or harder to aim with SRMs, which makes mounting missles on certain mechs or variants a stupid move. Status : ???

-Some maps are terribly designed, nobody enjoys 5 mins of walking before you encounter the enemy, see : the stupid artic mountain map, where the best way to win is to avoid the enemy and have as many lights as possible run in circles to cap. Some maps are also weighted more than others, and will show up more often. Forest colony, one of the most well designed maps in the game, almost never shows up in the queue now. Status : May possibly be improved in the latest patch due to new spawn locations.

-There is no way to scroll up for the chat log. Status : Being fixed since closed beta (official response from PGI support).

-There is no way to test new loadouts before being forced to pay the customization fees, resulting in potentially a LOT of wasted money to find out that a load out does not work well. This is especailly true for modifying FF/Endo steel. Status : ???

-The economy results in tons of wasted mech xp that do nothing, as well as being forced to grind hundreds of games to get 3 mechs + elite efficiencies, of which two mechs most players won't use anyway. This has turned a lot of people off from the game and from trying out different mechs and variants. Status : ???

-There is no reason to use ferro fibrous armor over endo steel given that they occupy the same amount of slots, but endo steel gives much more tonnage for nearly the same amount of c-bills. A simple fix would be to make FF armor take slightly less slots, but PGI shows no sign of looking at this. Status : ???

-There is no reason, ever, to use single over double heatsinks. Status : ???

-Given how powerful ECM is, there is no reason not to use a ECM mech whenever possible. This mainly applies to light mechs. Status : ???

-The critical hit system makes no sense when you can just skip critical hits and core a mech in the next alpha anyway. It would only make sense if internals had equal or more HP than armor, which would encourage the use of critical hits to disable equipment, rather than just blowing the entire section away through sheer damage. Status : ???

-There is no reason to use CASE when you can mount ammo in the cockpit and legs. There is also no reason to use CASE on a mech with a XL engine. Status : ???

-NARC/TAGs are largely pointless. The latter -may- be useful in an organized match though. Status : ???

-Weight class matching fails to take into account that mechs at different ends of a weight class are not balanced with each other. A locust is in no way a fair match for a ECM raven or spider, or a jenner, just as how a dragon is in no way a match for a orion. Status : ???

-Fast mechs do not work for mediums/heavies due to their large hitboxes. It works well on lights because they are small, but when people used to run a lot of fast hunchbacks/centurions, they were still extremly easy to hit due to their relatively large models. Mediums and fast heavies (60 tons, like the dragon) are in a tough spot because they were designed to have speed grant them survivability in the TT, which translates to zero survivability in MWO. Exception : If the player shooting at you has 300+ ms ping, then you are nearly invulnerable. Status : ???

-Ghost heat does not actually prevent people from boating weapons that were never meant to be boated, such as dual AC20 jagermechs. All they have to do is chainfire, which completely bypasses the ghost heat mechanic, and doesn't actually reduce their insane damage in any way other than to make it (slightly) harder to move out of cover, fire, and reverse. Status : ???

-You cannot bring up the tactical map while spectating. Status : Intended feature apparently.

-Ballistic hits cover your cockpit with black smoke even if they hit nowhere near your cockpit. Status : ???

-Kill/Death messages dissapear from the chatlog after your death. Status : Being fixed since closed beta (official response from PGI support).

-You cannot type while the tactical map is open. Status : Being fixed since closed beta (official response from PGI support).

-When you die, any text messages you are typing while the death cam is active are lost when the game forces you into spectator mode. Status : Being fixed since closed beta (official response from PGI support).

-It is very difficult to tell which name on the tactical map belongs to which teammate. Text is small and tends to overlap. There is also no way to give orders to specific mechs (outside of the lance system). For example if you see a friendly mech near a cap point, you cant give an order to him to cap the cap point....you have to give an order to an entire lance. Status : ???

-Mechs with low hanging weapon mounts often have shots intercepted by low level terrain. An atlas attempting to fire into the crater on Caustic Valley often has it's shots intercepted, whereas a stalker with it's high mounted hardpoints does not have this problem. This makes some mechs MUCH better than others. Status : ???

-Mechs with cockpits mounted in the center of their CT (such as the catapault and cataphract) are much more susceptible to headshots and blinding by weapons fire, as most players aim for center of mass (where their cockpit is), and if you miss the cockpit you will hit the CT anyway. Mechs with small cockpits mounted on their heads have an advantage as aiming for the cockpit entails some risk of missing and doing no damage. Status : ???

-The lack of JJs is crippling on some maps such as Canyon, as assaults are unable to ascend even the smallest hills, leaving them stuck as either sniper platforms or painfully lost in the valleys. Status : ???

-JJs provide uneven thrust depending on the weight of the battlemech, due to the class system. Basically in a particular weight class, the JJs will provide a certain amount of thrust....which unfairly penalizes the mechs at the upper end of the weight class.

The shadowhawk (55 tons in the 40-55 ton range) jumps only 15 meters with 3 JJs. The quickdraw jumps 19 meters with 3 JJs, because its 60 tons in the 60-75 ton range. This means that even a Victor jumps further than a shadowhawk, even though one is an assault and one is a medium. For reference, in the TT rules you jump the same distance if you have the same number of JJs, the only difference being that JJs weigh more on heavier mechs. Status : ???

-It is impossible to remove a light mech from a cap point by yourself (unless you are at least as fast as said light mech). The light mech will simply run around in circles around the oil rig, preventing any of your shots from hitting him. You will not be able to catch him unless you have multiple teammates helping you or are fast enough to keep pace with the light mech. Status : ???

-In conquest mode, XP is only awarded for capture assists if you are standing at a cap point at the end of the game. Status : ???

Edited by Jun Watarase, 15 December 2013 - 05:04 AM.


#2 Konner Duko

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 01:35 PM

I agree with some of you cases but in others I would have to disagree. there are plenty of large lasers out there. and pulse lasers are fine I see them as well as use them but it tends to be rare. CASE was always useless in inner sphere mechs with xl engines was only useful on clan tech as the engine only took up 2 not 3 crits in the sides so you could loose a torso and still be up and running. tags are useful but I will give you the narc is not. I could go on but those are the few that really stood out when I read your post.

Edited by Konner Duko, 03 December 2013 - 01:36 PM.


#3 MountainCopper

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 01:47 PM

I "liked" the post because I agree with most of it. Just came back here after being one-shotted in the back in a Medium. I can only guess double PPC and a AC20.
This can't be it...

#4 Serapth

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 01:50 PM

View Postredacted, on 03 December 2013 - 01:35 PM, said:

[DELETED CONTENT]


Almost everything he said on game balance is a matter of opinion. That said, there are a disturbing number of core game features he listed, that have been problems since day one, and continue to be problems. Hit detection, matchmaker in ability to handle premade cheese lances ( 4xDDC drops, 4x Spider drops, etc ), down to simple infuriatingly broken things, like the above mentioned inability to scroll chat.


So, even if you hacked out the half of his post that was opinion based balance issue, there are still a ton of outstanding issues that really shouldn't be at this point.

Edited by Destined, 03 December 2013 - 02:35 PM.
Responding to Deleted Content


#5 Monky

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 02:00 PM

Quote

Gauss rifles charging did not discourage the prevalance of gauss boats sniping, it just forced them to snipe more. Which was never hard on maps like desert.


This was the intended effect. Gauss where being used as omnipurpose weapons and now are more practical as sniper weapons than brawl weapons, while still being capable of brawling in the right situation.

#6 Victor Morson

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 02:24 PM

Again most of the weapon balance things could be corrected by spending 5 minutes per patch.

Less than that.

It's literally plain text. Make 30 seconds of updates, put it into the next test cycle (Don't give us the "It takes longer because of testing!" excuse, because if this is done FIRST, it's tested naturally) and then release it.

Either PGI thinks everything is working yet, are incredibly lazy, or the lead devs just stopped caring entirely and went on vacation like they did last time for 8 months. I'd bet that.

#7 varez

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 02:35 PM

I don't think flamers are useless, they work as flashlights!

#8 Victor Morson

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 08:36 PM

Just reminding everyone that that the steps to improve the weapons isn't magic, and anyone could do it. There's really no excuse for not having slight shifts with each patch.
  • Open the weapons XML file in notepad
  • Search "Weapon Name Here"
  • Slightly tweak a number
  • File -> Save
  • Done!
Want to try the flamer with 5% more heat? Just bump that number a couple digits. That's literally all there is to it.

#9 Corvus Antaka

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 11:35 PM

Good compilation. Maybe someone from PGI will answer these questions one day.

View PostVictor Morson, on 03 December 2013 - 08:36 PM, said:

Just reminding everyone that that the steps to improve the weapons isn't magic, and anyone could do it. There's really no excuse for not having slight shifts with each patch.
  • Open the weapons XML file in notepad
  • Search "Weapon Name Here"
  • Slightly tweak a number
  • File -> Save
  • Done!
Want to try the flamer with 5% more heat? Just bump that number a couple digits. That's literally all there is to it.



PGI should hire you. I bet you'd fix the game with a few XML database entry adjustments and the entire community would be happy and no one would complain.

#10 Victor Morson

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Posted 03 December 2013 - 11:58 PM

View PostColonel Pada Vinson, on 03 December 2013 - 11:35 PM, said:

PGI should hire you. I bet you'd fix the game with a few XML database entry adjustments and the entire community would be happy and no one would complain.


Of course you can't please everyone, but I can tell you that at least a couple weapons would be shifting a few percent every single patch until the blatantly broken stuff is fixed.

Toying around with it, I could even make the MGs into burst-fire weapon that operate as long as you hold the trigger within a duration of time FROM THE XML FILE, so yeah.

Not everyone would like what I'd do, but progress would be made. There wouldn't be two months of absolutely nothing on this front. Eight if you count what happened before.

Edited by Victor Morson, 03 December 2013 - 11:58 PM.


#11 Jun Watarase

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Posted 04 December 2013 - 12:13 AM

But but muh QA process! If you edit a text file the game and servers may crash!

#12 Malzel

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Posted 04 December 2013 - 02:32 AM

You know, I almost spent an hour of my life preparing counter arguments to each of your imagined slights, but given your impressive level of bias and tendency to state opinions as facts, I'm pretty sure we couldn't have a meaningful conversation.

Instead I'll just say game balance is currently been better than it ever has been, even with the game's other imperfections. You want to live in this magical land where we can "fix" lag, every weapon is a top-tier choice, and every match comes out as a close 11-12 nail-biter. No game will ever accomplish that. Lower your expectations.

#13 Jun Watarase

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Posted 04 December 2013 - 02:35 AM

Updated original post.

#14 Jun Watarase

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Posted 04 December 2013 - 02:38 AM

View PostMalzel, on 04 December 2013 - 02:32 AM, said:

You know, I almost spent an hour of my life preparing counter arguments to each of your imagined slights, but given your impressive level of bias and tendency to state opinions as facts, I'm pretty sure we couldn't have a meaningful conversation.

Instead I'll just say game balance is currently been better than it ever has been, even with the game's other imperfections. You want to live in this magical land where we can "fix" lag, every weapon is a top-tier choice, and every match comes out as a close 11-12 nail-biter. No game will ever accomplish that. Lower your expectations.


If you want to live in a magical land where you can somehow compete with large pulse lasers and LRMs against a player sitting in ECM and alpha striking with PPCs/gauss/ACs before hiding behind cover, then by all means keep getting cored. The rest of us want all weapons to be useful. The weapon balance issues have been well documented and beaten to death with a dead PGI ever since closed beta started, and can clearly be seen by the evolution of the metagame.

P.S. Please show me a video of you killing moving light mechs with 300+ ping, thanks. Without the use of streaks or LRMs.

Edited by Jun Watarase, 04 December 2013 - 02:40 AM.


#15 John MatriX82

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Posted 04 December 2013 - 03:53 AM

View PostJun Watarase, on 03 December 2013 - 01:20 PM, said:

Most of these have been unresolved for more than a year since closed beta....

In no particular order :

>Too many things to quote<


I love you. You forgot to add the movement archetypes that have basically destroyed a huge list of mechs that are not JJ-capable, making mechs hard stopped by things as tall as half of the under-knee leg, making me wonder why mechs even have knees.. to what purpose if they can't raise the leg to get over obstacles?

The above has rendered non-jj capable mechs to be pretty impaired compared to those equipped with them.

View PostMonky, on 03 December 2013 - 02:00 PM, said:

This was the intended effect. Gauss where being used as omnipurpose weapons and now are more practical as sniper weapons than brawl weapons, while still being capable of brawling in the right situation.


I've never heard of a sniper rifle that has to be "charged" in order to shoot. When you have the target you shoot, you can't lose nearly 1 full second to charge the thing and then release it. As a sniping tool, even the little movement of your finger lifting from the mouse button is going to slightly move off your crosshair. That isn't sniping.

If it has to stay that way, make that the charge once reached is held until you don't press again the fire button. If the GR is shot while charged it explodes as it does now, if it's not charged, nothing happens.

This said by one who still even jumpsnipes with the thing, but it's a completely pointless mechanism, as it's ghost heat, dhss not working @ 2.0x, SRMs that splatter damage all over without having yet fixed splash damage, all due to their decision to make "OMNI-hardpoints" rather than restrict their dimensions or award to each variant a set number of dynamic critical slots that you can dedicate to weapons of each category. The proof is that after more than 1 year this game is still extremely unbalanced.

#16 Jun Watarase

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Posted 04 December 2013 - 05:22 AM

Can you link me to the movement archetype thing, i dont recall seeing them in patch notes....although i did notice that my atlas is now near useless in canyon due to the small hills that i cant climb.

Edit : I just tried using SRM + Artemis in a match. I am completely flabbergasted at how large the spread is at 200m. It makes SRMs completely worthless.

Edited by Jun Watarase, 04 December 2013 - 05:23 AM.


#17 Thorqemada

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Posted 04 December 2013 - 07:03 AM

The Case thing is simply a rule misintepretation - a Case is an Ammo Container inside the RT/LT and not a RT/LT Container so of course its absolutely obvious that it would prevent XL Engines from blowing up bcs an ammo explosion does not transfer from the Case to the RT/LT but to blow out openings in the front/back of a Mech.
The only thing happen would be that a Mech may stumble from the blow out and receive some strutural stress but no destruction.
Some Designs (XL-Engine-Mech with Case) show that is was thought out this way.
PGI could increase the chance for Ammo Excplosions manyfold and give us another design choice.

Edited by Thorqemada, 04 December 2013 - 07:05 AM.


#18 Jun Watarase

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Posted 04 December 2013 - 07:35 AM

I know how case works but the problem with the original TT rules was that it served no purpose on XL machines, except for fluff reasons and perhaps for campaigns (as you can salvage the mech if it had CASE). The same problem is in MWO.

Increasing ammo explosion chance does nothing because people are not going to shoot the legs where the ammo is 99% of the time. People do not put ammo in the legs on the TT because of physical attacks (kicks). However forcing players to put ammo in the side torsos would shift the game straight towards gauss/energy weapons with the exception of a few niche builds. Since side torsos are so easy to chew through here compared to TT (thanks to PGI's insistence on pinpoint weapon accuracy), this would make it extremly easy to force an ammo explosion. Even in TT, competitive gameplay favors energy weapons over ballistics for the "zombie" effect.

#19 Cest7

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Posted 05 December 2013 - 02:17 AM

Mouse cursor won't go away after minimization.

#20 Jun Watarase

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Posted 05 December 2013 - 03:00 AM

Never seen that happen, please clarify.





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